


Holiday Hop

by Otters4Life



Category: Spider-Gwen (Comics), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas, Extremely Minor Angst, F/F, Family, Fluff, Meeting the Parents, Number 25 with Chicken, Overstimulation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 22:46:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17252828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Otters4Life/pseuds/Otters4Life
Summary: It's Laura and Gwen's first holiday and they're trying to cram in as much celebrating as possible with the people they love.





	Holiday Hop

 

 

 

Christmas with the family was new.

Laura didn't often get excited for the holidays. It wasn't hard, she'd not been raised in that kind of environment. Later on she'd lived with the X-Men. They'd had their parties and their big dinners --multiple for every tradition. But not being from any of those tradition and made her feel even more outcast than usual.

But this year, she had her family. She had Debbie and Megan,Gabby and Jonathan. She even had Gwen if she ever arrived. It was important to her that Gabby have as good a holiday as possible.

Her little sister came from a very similar environment--militarized, clinical, brutal --but somehow managed to come out of it with a joie de vivre that would make a Care Bear jealous.

She wanted that smile to stay on her sister's face as long as possible. And she wanted her to have a good relationship with her Aunt and Cousin.

But it was hard to put a pin on dinner's mood. It wasn't overly happy, they'd had too much re-traumatization of late for that. But it wasn't tense or sad either. It had this strange mixture of feelings, sitting somewhere in the muddy middle between multiple extremes. Gabby was her usual self, but even she wasn't able to change course on this meal.

 

Until Gwen got there.

Gwen arrived about halfway through seconds. Debbie had tried to hold off on dinner, but the appetites of multiple wolverines and a honey badger were hard to keep tamed with appetizers and egg nog.

When Debbie answered the door Gwen was still mid change between her Ghost Spider costume and her usual skirt plus a holiday sweater. Debbie didn't even blink as the gooey black spiders faded into the fabric. Still not weirder than magic soul armor.

"Hi, thanks for being patient! I had a run in with another universe's Scorpion. Those folks really get around! She ended up really sweet when we stopped fighting. Really liked boats. Hi! I'm Gwen! " Gwen thrust her hand out in greeting.

 

The rest of dinner was a lot more joyous, once Gwen and Gabby got started back and forth it was hard to get them to stop. She regaled Gwen with stories about the infamous steak and cake and of outer space and zombie bunnies.

Gwen countered with the joy of a Dollar Dog, her best buddy Spider-Ham and that time she and Spider-Punk put on a concert across the multiverse.

Laura 's cousin edged forward in her seat.

'You're a musician? " She remembered that Megan was supposed to like music. This was a relief, her present was sure to be a hit. She knew that Lila Cheney was popular in any dimension, but a signed album of songs that don't exist in this parallel is going to blow her mind. She smirked.

"Drummer. We both like to hit things. It's why we're so good together. "

Laura let out a breath she didn't even know she was was holding in. Her family liked her girlfriend.

 

* * *

 

 

Pretty soon, it was time for another family dinner, in another dimension.

Thank God for healthy superheroic metabolisms.

Gwen knew intimately the feeling of an empty chair at the holidays. She'd lost her mom when she was young, and she knew that little bit of holiday melancholy was something and Laura had in common.

The Parkers however, were still fairly new to it. They'd only lost peter a couple years ago, and the ache of losing a child was only intensified during times of celebration.

Year before last, on better terms, they had invited the Stacys to celebrate Chanukah with them, and the Stacys reciprocated with an invitation for Christmas dinner.

 

It was nice to have people you loved around during these times of year--a warm shoulder to help alleviate the ache of loss. Last year Gwen was in prison, and her father in a coma, even with Gwen fresh out of prison, Ben Parker still seemed to be keeping his anger fresh. They'd received no invitation and no RSVP.

If they showed up, Gwen was excited to introduce Laura to two of her favorite people in the world. If they came. It may be that she's lost another part of her family.

 

Laura was, of course, nervous as hell. Of course she would be. She's met actually cosmic forces, and here she is, nervous about a middle aged man who just happens to be the father of one of her most important people.

"Why is there a live wolverine in my house? " George asked as he and Gwen flitted through the kitchen removing things from burners and setting up for dinner.

Laura and her brood were set up in the living room, Laura positioned rigidly on the couch, wishing she were allowed to help, while Gabby slumped over Jonathan in a food induced stupor.

"She's my girlfriend, dad! we talked about this. "

He rolled his eyes. "No, I mean that thing on the floor. "

"Jonathan 's cool dad. Trust me. He's domesticated!."

"Gwen."

"Seriously, he's not even as dangerous as the symbiote. "

"Fair enough."

George was now smiling, and Laura dares to relax a little when she hears the crash of a dish of macaroni hitting the floor. George is cursing and his hands appear to be shaking.

Laura starts to stand and help, but Gwen waves her off.

"It's no big deal, just some macaroni." It really is only food, and not a big enough deal to stress out over because of some dexterity issues. George's smile has still disappeared, though. He doesn't seem to agree.

Someone speaks from the the doorway and Laura is already halfway over towards them before she realizes the people who let themselves in have their own key.

"Do you need a hand cleaning that up?"

It's Ben and May, with wine and a dish of food. There are tears and hugs,.but dinner ia still a bit of an anxious affair.

Laura doesn't honestly know what to do here. She'd been serious with people before, but the whole "meeting the parents" thing is unfamiliar territory. Especially once you add a set of surrogate parents to the mix.

She spends the whole meal staring down at her plate while Gabby, thankfully, stole the show. Her joy was infectious, and she had the Parkers and Mr. Stacy laughing as soon as they sat sown.

Laura was amused too, despite herself, and couldn't help but smile along. Gwen didn't seem too invested in the conversation. It was clear Gwen could read Laura's mood because she kept looking at her, and ended up resting her hand on Laura's in her lap. Laura gave her a squeeze. She could do this.

 

George ended up asking Laura to help with dishes. "You seemed so eager to help before, I figured you'd want something to do.

George decreed Laura would be drying, and they stood and washed in silence while the others cleared off the table

When they were finally alone, George turned and locked her in his gaze. Oh no. "Gwen has been through hell these past couple years." The shove l talk. She's heard about these. "A lot of it without my awareness. I felt like I'd let her down, and i promised I'd never let her go through anything alone again."

Laura set down the plate she was holding. If she clenched it any harder, it would break.

“Laura, I'm so glad she found you.

"I can tell, you know, that your life hasn't been that easy. You've probably spent a long time alone before you found that kid sister of yours.

"I promise you that you'll never be alone again. No matter what happens. You can come to me with anything. You're family now. "

 

* * *

 

Later that night, Laura was waiting on a creaky bar stool for the start of a concert by the _Mary Janes_.

According to Ghost Spider, the band had hit their stride a short while back. It was well known now that their drummer was a superhero and, after the majority of Hero Groupies faded away, they were left as a moderately successful band with a steady crowd of regulars.

They got to play at some of the less trashy local venues, they opened for the likes of the _eXiles_ and the _Revengers_ , and were even working on their first major album.

But every year they still came back to this bar, the place they got their first gig, and played their Holiday Spectacular. Laura was sure it would be good. Probably.

 

Laura didn't really listen to a lot of music.

It wasn't by design --she imagined that she enjoyed it as much as anyone else --but she was always on the move and never really had time to seek it out.

On the various X-Teams she'd been part of someone was often listening to something. Even the best noise canceling headphones meant that she got to sample a wide variety of styles--but the idea of sitting down and putting a pair on her head made her uneasy. She couldn't stand cutting off and overwhelming one of her senses like that

And she definitely didn't go to shows.

Her peers had dragged her to concerts back when they were only teenagers. The crush of hundreds of young people dancing and talking and smelling in one place made for an intense overload she didn't enjoy.

She could manage it. She was trained to manage it. She sometimes even forced herself to do so to go clubbing with her last boyfriend. She simply didn't like it as much as she let on.

So why was she sitting in some crowded bar, picking at some mediocre hot wings, waiting for the music to start.

She was probably in love.

There was no announcement, no preamble--it wasn't needed. Just one minute, the sounds of tuning instruments come from behind the cheap curtains. The next, the curtain pulls away, Gwen clacks her drumsticks, and the front woman, a redhead, belts out the opening bars to that Mariah Carey songs."

The crowd goes wild.

They rotate through a set list of rockified Christmas Classics, and Mary Janes mainstays. She finds herself enjoying "Face it, Tiger", recent hit "Web Warrior" and some song in Latin she didn't understand.

She almost gouges her eardrums out about five verses into "The 12 Days of Christmas". She must've made a face because Gwen locks eyes with her and sticks out her tongue. Revenge will have to be swift and merciless.

They finished their set, and started filtering their way through the crowd.

There were a few fans who tried to accost them on the way to their table, and Laura was so tempted to clear the band a path. But the band was getting good at establishing boundaries and after a few firm denials they were back by the table while Laura set in on her third plate of hot wings. The meet and greet felt like it took forever, though she was sure it was only a half hour. They'd capped the line pretty quickly--it was the holidays --and they only had a dozen or two autographs to sign before they split off to get a drink.

Laura is sure she knows who these people are in Gwen's band. If you asked her to write a dossier she could probably tell you their height, eye color, and who preferred which drink.

But the whole encounter was a blur for her. She couldn't remember what they'd talked about or anything she'd said in response .

Like dinner earlier, Gwen seemed like she could tell. Gwen kept a comforting hand on her waist, and said something to her friends with a suggestive eyebrow waggle and they made a beeline for the door.

"You OK?"

" Yeah, fine."

"Seriously? You were fading our pretty bad back there. Do you wanna skip the party?"

 "Sorry. It was just a little overload, I'm just tired. I'm good to do this. "

Gwen squeezed her close. "Well I'm wiped too. So, how about we pick up Gabby, say hi for a few minutes, and then pile on the couch and watch something none of us have ever heard of.'

 

* * *

 

They make a quick stop at Jessica's party. It's already in full swing when they get there, of course, so they're the most sober ones there.

They say their hellos, and make their introductions. Laura's not officially an Avenger, but she's Wolverine so she's essentially on every team. she ends up being the one introducing Gwen to half the people there.

The other half, who've met Gwen at Jessica's previous parties, end up knowing her as Gwen's girlfriend and that honestly feels pretty good to her. It's a kind of belonging she's starting to really enjoy.

They didn't stay long, couldn't even muster up the energy of a dance and they had to escape before Gabby found the cake

You wouldn't like Gabby when she's gotten into the cake.

Or maybe you would, she's kinda adorable regardless

They end up walking home with a box of unwanted fruitcake. It's nice, the kind of quiet you only get a couple times a year --when there's no one up and about and you can feel a sense of love reverberating through the air. It's a good walk, even though Gwen breaks off when they get closer to the apartment.

"I'll catch up, I've got an errand to run."

 

* * *

 

This leaves Laura, Gabby and Jonathan to get ready for bed on their own. Pajama-ed , Laura adjusts the crooked Santa hat on the pelican and unfolds the pull away couch. Gabby runs to the kitchen to pop some corn and Jonathan drops a drool-coated remote into Laura's lap, leaving her to scroll through the Netflix.

There was no sound to Gwen's entrance, no footsteps or little whoosh noise. But Laura knew immediately when Gwen got here even before she slipped through the window

She could feel her shoulders relax.

"I stopped by your favorite place. Number 25 with Chicken, right?"

 

"I think I'm in love" Laura says as Gwen plops down next to her, her suit changing mid fall into the appearance of pajamas with little ducks on them and squeezing in underneath the throw.

"That's gay." She curls up against Laura and plops a disgustingly wet kiss onto her cheek.

 

"I noticed."

Gabby joins them with the fruitcake, and Jonathan drapes down across everyone's lap, unapologetically taking up space in a way only house cats, dogs and wolverines have managed to learn.

“What does everyone feel like watching? We've got trashy cooking, trashy action movies and trashy monster movies.”

They end up watching _Nailed It_.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I was pretty nervous about writing this, my fanfic muscles are out of shape, but I put more time and energy into any previous fanfic of similar length and I'm pretty proud of it. I hope that the recipient enjoys it.


End file.
